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SAN DIEGO, Oct. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beam Global, (Nasdaq: BEEM), a leading provider of innovative and sustainable infrastructure solutions for the electrification of transportation and energy security, today announced Beam Global and the company’s products will be introduced in Ethiopia as a first move to support the African continent and serve the esteemed Ethiopian government in its progressive efforts to electrify transportation and build a more sustainable and adaptable energy infrastructure.
The Government of Ethiopia (GOE) recently became the first country to ban and prohibit import of both new and used internal combustion engine vehicles, including gas and diesel, as part of its shift to a green economy. According to the GOE, the number of EVs in the country will more than quadruple by 2032. The adoption of EVs in Ethiopia is rapidly growing and outpacing set goals, and earlier this year the country met its 10-year target goal of 148,000 EVs on the road in just two years.
Beam Global has entered into an agreement with Princess Leila Bon Abajobir Abajifar and Princess Zyeneb Abajobir Abajifar as agent partners who, through their extensive network of notable contacts, will assist the company to enter Ethiopia and the broader African markets. As descendants of King Abajifar of Ethiopia, Leila Bon Abajobir Abajifar and Zyeneb Abajobir Abajifar both inherit the title of princess. They have distinguished and extensive business careers and have direct access to privileged networks and decision-makers within the Ethiopian federal government and among key figures in various Sub-Saharan African countries.
“We are honored to have Princess Leila Bon-Abajobir Abajifar and Princess Zyeneb Abajobir Abajifar, with whom our European team have a long-standing successful relationship, serve as advocates for Beam Global in Ethiopia,” said Desmond Wheatley, CEO of Beam Global.” "In the U.S., we have clear evidence that democratizing access to clean energy and transportation has a profound, leveling impact on society, delivering opportunities and economic benefits that would be impossible to realize without such effort, and we aim to help create the same benefits in Ethiopia and across Africa.”
“With a population of 1.3 billion people, Africa rivals the largest markets in the world for electrification of transportation and is also the second fastest growing economic region in the world. At the same time, the existing infrastructure is not able to provide for the needs of an increasingly mobile and economically active population,” said Princess Leila Bon Abajobir Abajifar. “We believe that Africans will leapfrog to electrified transportation and industry with distributed infrastructure like Beam Global’s just as they did when adopting mobile phones without ever building extensive wired networks. We believe that Beam Global can play a significant role in that transition which is why are delighted to introduce the company and its products to our network of influential officials and business owners.”